Method and machine for packaging rod shaped articles

ABSTRACT

Cigarettes or like rod-shaped smoking articles are introduced into and sealed in packs by withdrawing them from a magazine, moving the thus withdrawn articles sideways and assembling moving articles into block-shaped groups, converting blanks of sheet material into open-ended packs which thereupon receive groups of articles, and sealing the open ends of successive packs.

United States Patent [1 1 Rudszinat et al.

[1 1v 3,772,848 [451 Ne -2 5 .973

[5 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR PACKAGING ROD SHAPED ARTICLES [75] Inventors: -Willy Rudszinat, Dassendorf; Otto Erdmann, Hamburg-Bergedorf; Wolfgang Zausch, Hamburg, all of Germany [73] Assignee: Hauni-Werke Koerber & Co. K.G.,

l-lamburg-Bergedorf, Germany [*1 Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Sept. 28, 1988, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Sept. 14, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 180,431

Related US. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 827,808, May 26, 1969, Pat. No. 3,608,270, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 582,106, Sept.26, 1966, abandoned.

[30] Q Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 12, 1965 Germany l-l 57397 52 us. Cl 53/24, 53/26, 53/29,

[51] Int. Cl... 1365b 19/10, B65b 19/24, B65b 43/10 [58] Field of Search 53/26, 29, 148-l51, 53/192, 234, 236, 252, 24, 124 D, l24 E [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,998,382 4/1935 Neff 53/252 2,907,155 10/1959 Engleson et al. 53/252 3,608,270 9/1971 Rudszinat et a]. 53/252 Primary Examiner-Robert L. Spruill Attorney-Michael S. Striker [57 ABSTRACT Cigarettes or like rod-shaped smoking articles are introduced into and sealed in packs by withdrawing them from a magazine, moving the thus withdrawn articles sideways and assembling moving articles into block-shaped groups, converting blanks of sheet material into open-ended packs which thereupon receive groups of articles, and scaling the open ends of successive packs.

26 Claims, 32 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDuuvzoms 3772.848

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PATENTEDHUYPQ m5 3.772.848 SHEET UGUF 16 P IENIEuwuvzzo I975 3.772.848 SHEET 0? OF 16 Fig. 9

PATENTED 14m 20 I975 SHEET 08 HF 16 mgmgunov 20 L975 SHEET 1 1% OF 16 PATENTEDnuvzo 1915 SHEET 18 0F 16 XAXH METHOD AND MACHINE FOR PACKAGING ROD SHAPED ARTICLES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a division of our copending application Ser. No. 827,808 filedMay 26, 1969, now U. S. Pat. No. 3,608,270, which is a continuation-impart of our Ser. No. 582,106 filed Sept. 26, 1966 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At the present, two types of packaging methods and I machines enjoy widespread use in the tobacco processing industry. Packaging machines of the first type, also known as straight machines, operate upon groups of cigarettes which advance lengthwise of the cigarettes along a straight path. Packaging machines of the second type, also known as revolver type machines, utilize turrets on which the groups of cigarettes are wrapped into one or more blanks while travelling sideways about a fixed axis' In such revolver type machines, the groups of cigarettes are advanced intermittently because the unit which forms groups or blocks of cigarettes by withdrawing them from a source utilizes an intermittently operated plunger or ejector. Intermittent operation imposes limits upon the output of conventional packaging machines. This is due mainly to the fact that the speed of the plunger cannot be raised beyond a certain practical limit because the feed which supplies cigarettes to the plunger comprises one or more channels or shafts, and it takes some time before the channels are refilled with cigarettes which descend by gravity. Furthermore, an operation of the plunger at an excessive speed invariably results in deformation of or other damage to the cigarettes when the rapidly moving plunger strikes against a group or block.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an important object of the present invention to provide a method and a machine for packaging cigarettes or similar rod shaped articles in such a way that the output of the packaging machine can be increased well above the output of conventional packaging machines without in any way affecting the accuracy of the operation and without causing any damage to the articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and a machine for accommodating and sealing blocks or groups of properly arrayed cigarettes or like rod shaped articles in packs of the type whicl'iare pres-' the type wherein a revenue label or stamp seals the top end of the pack and wherein such revenue label is thereupon surrounded by a transparent wrapper or envelope of celluloid or similar synthetic plastic material.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a improved revolver type packaging machine for cigarettes or the like and to construct the machine in such a way that its turrets can rotate without interruptions and at a constant speed.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a revolver type packaging machine wherein two or more units may be assembled of identical or similar component parts.

A further object of our invention is to provide a packaging machine whose operation is fully automatic and wherein not only the delivery of fresh rod shaped articles but also the ejection and further transfer of finished packs take place without any assistance by the operators.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packaging machine which is constructed and assembled in such a way that it can take up and process the output of two or more modern cigarette making machines and which can be assembled with such machines into a production line.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel system of conveyors and drive means therefor which may be utilized in a packaging machine of the above outlined characteristics.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of converting a batch of cigarettes or similar rod shaped articles into groups or blocks of accurately arrayed articles which are ready for immediate transfer into cigarette packs or analogous containers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of transferring groups or blocks of accurately arrayed rod shaped articles between successive conveyors of a revolver type packaging machine.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a method of forming, filling and sealing successive cigarette packs by resorting to acompact, high-speed, reliable and relatively inexpensive packaging machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method according to which each of a series of successively assembled groups of articles may be formed in a series of successive stages and wherein such mode of assembling the groups results in substantially increased output of the packaging machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of withdrawing cigarettes or other rod shaped articles from a source of supply and of assembling the thus withdrawn articles in groups each of which contains a desired number of parallel articles.

An ancillary object of the invention is to provide simple, compact and readily accessible blank feeding, draping, retaining, folding, tucking, closing and sealing instrumentalities for use in the improved packaging machine.

One feature of our invention resides in the provision of a method of packaging cigarettes or similar rod shaped smoking articles which comprises the steps of withdrawing articles from a source of supply, moving the thus withdrawn articles sideways and assembling the moving articles in successive groups each of which constitutes a block-shaped commodity and contains a predetermined number of accurately arrayed parallel articles (for exmaple, eachcommodity may consist of twenty articles), converting successive blanks of tinfoil, transparent plastic, paperboard and/or other suitable wrapping or packaging material into empty packs each of which has an open end and each of which accommodates a group of articles, and sealing the open ends of successive packs.

The method preferably comprises the additional step of shifting successively filled moving packs axially of the articles prior to sealing of their ends.

In accordance with another advantageous feature of our invention, the assembling step may include delivering the articles of the aforementioned groups by gravity feed and sideways from a higher level to a lower level so that at least some of successively delivered articles come to rest on previously delivered articles and the groups grow gradually until each group contains a predetermined number of articles, and lowering the growing groups so that each successively delivered article descends by substantially the same distance. Such lowering may be carried out in the chambers of a continuously revolving turret which travels below a station where the articles descend from a higher level to a lower level, i.e., into the chambers of the revolving turret. Each chamber may be provided with a bottom wall which is movable with reference to the turret or vice versa and which causes the growing groups to enter deeper into the respective chambers at the same rate as the number of superimposed strata of articles in such chambers increases.

It is also within the purview of our invention to apply at least one additional layer or envelope of wrapping material around successive sealed packs whereby the sealed packs preferably move sideways (i.e., at right angles to the axes of the articles therein), at least during a portion of the layer applying step. Such additional layers may consist of transparent or translucent material.

It is a further preferred to include a condensing or compacting step in the course of which successively arrayed groups of articles are subjected to compressive stresses acting in directions at right angles to their axes to effect a reduction in the cross-sectional dimensions of such groups and to make sure that each of the thus condensed groups can be readily fitted into the respective pack. The shifting of groups into the respective packs can be carried out in two steps, and the condensing step preferably follows immediately the first shifting step and is carried out while the articles of the groups move sideways.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved packaging machine itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal .of the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a cigarette packaging machine which embodies one form of our invention, certain optional components of the packaging machine being indicated by phantom lines;

FIG. 2 is a developed view of certain components which are shown in FIG. 1 and illustrates various stages in the axial movement of a set of transfer members or pushers which serve to shift groups of accurately arrayed cigarettes and partly finished packs in the axial direction of four endless conveyors;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat distorted diagrammatic exploded perspective view of the four conveyors which are illustrated in FIG. 2 and further shows various stages in the formation and treatment of cigarette groups and various stages in conversion of two precut blanks into a finished cigarette pack;

Flg. 4 is a similar exploded perspective view of the two endless conveyors which are indicated in FIG. 1 by phantom lines, further showing various stages in the conversion ofa third precut blank into an envelope for a finished cigarette pack;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged axial sectional view of the upper half of the cigarette packaging machine whose parts are shown in FIG. 1 by solid lines and which is utilized to insert and to seal groups of arrayed cigarettes in packs consisting of two layers or envelopes each;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line VI-VI of FIG. 5 and illustrates a portion of the coupling between the compacting and pack building conveyors of the packaging machine;

FIG. 7 is a section as seen in the direction of arrows from the line VIIVII of FIG. 6, with the pack building conveyor indicated by phantom lines;

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of a packaging machine substantially as seen from the right-hand side of FIG. 5, with a portion of the frame broken away to reveal certain details of the main source of cigarettes and of the feed which supplies cigarettes to the chambers of a slightly modified group forming conveyor;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of the modified group forming conveyor, through the feed and through the main source, substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line IX-IX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a feeding roller which may be utilized in the feed of the packaging machine shown in FIG. 5 or 8;

FIG. 11 is a similar perspective view of a modified feeding roller;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged end elevational view of the group forming conveyor in the packaging machine of FIG. 5, further showing the manner in which the component parts of the feed assemble successive groups of properly arrayed cigarettes in the chambers of the turret which forms part of the group forming conveyor;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of the group forming conveyor, substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XIIIXIII of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an end elevational view of a compressing or compacting conveyor which is utilized in the packaging machine of FIG. 5, certain parts of this conveyor being broken away to reveal the tunnels in which the groups of cigarettes are compacted or condensed by means of fixed and movable compressing jaws;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary substantially axial sectional view of the compressing conveyor as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XV-XV of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 illustrates on a larger scale a detail of the structure shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is an end elevational view ofa pack building conveyor which is utilized in the packaging machine of FIG. 5;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary axial sectional view, substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XVIIl-XVIII of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a detail, substantially as seen in the direction of the arrow XIX in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is an end elevational view of a sealing conveyor which is utilized in the packaging machine of FIG. 5;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged fragmentary axial sectional view, substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XXI-XXI OF FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of a packaging machine which embodies all of the components indicated in FIG. 1 by solid lines and by phantom lines, this machine being utilized to form cigarette packs each of which comprises more than two layers or envelopes;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary end elevational view of a further packaging machine wherein the feed which delivers cigarettes to the chambers of the group forming conveyor comprises a single chute whose discharge end is oscillatable between two fixed end positions;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the discharge end of the oscillatable chute with its component parts shown in closed positions to prevent evacuation of cigarettes;

FIG. 25 illustrates the structure of FIG. 24 but with the parts ofthe chute in fully open positions during filling of a chamber in the turret of the group forming conveyor;

FIG. 26 again shows the structure of FIG. 24 but with the parts of the chute in partly closed positions;

FIG. 27 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the turret in the group forming conveyor shown in FIG. 23 and illustrates a group of properly arrayed cigarettes in the chamber of this turret;

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of a further packaging machine wherein the chambers of the group forming conveyor are radially offset with reference to the chambers of a pack building and sealing conveyor system; 7

FIG. 29 is a fragmentary sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XXIX-XXIX of FIG. 28 and illustrates the manner of delivering a blank into the machine of FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is a similar sectional view but showing the blank of FIG. .29 is partly deformed condition;

FIG. 31 is a fragmentary sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XXXIXXXI of FIG. 28 and illustrates a further stageof transport of the blank shown in FIG. 30; and

FIG. 32 is a fragmentary sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line XXXII-XXXII of FIG. 28 and illustrates certain deforming elements which treat the ends of a blank subsequent to conversion into a tube.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS board, and an outer layer of transparent or translucent plastic material. Basically, the packaging machine comprises a first machine section including a main source 2 of cigarettes which may include a conveyor 64 (see FIG. 5) for a series of filled cigarette trays 66 and a magazine or hopper 60 which receives cigarettes from successive trays 66. Referring again to FIG. 1, the first section of the machine further includes a feed 4 whose construction and mode of operation will be described in connection with FIGS. 5 and 8to l1 and which comprises a set of feeding elements serving to withdraw cigarettes from the hopper 60 and to deliver the thus withdrawn cigarettes sideways to successive receiving means or chambers of a first endless conveyor 6, hereinafter called group forming or group preparing conveyor. This conveyor 6 comprises a rotary turret or drum whose receiving means or chambers can accumulate groups of twenty cigarettes each. The exact construction and operation of the conveyor 6 will be described in connection with FIGS. 12 and 13. It suffices to say here that the conveyor 6 cooperates with a series of orbiting transfer members or pushers 14 (only one shown in FIG. 1) whose function is to displace or shift successively assembled groups or blocks of cigarettes into the receiving means or chambers or tunnels of a second endless conveyor 88, hereinafter called compressing or condensing conveyor, which forms part of a third machine section and is immediately adjacent to and rotates with the conveyor 6. The conveyors 6 and 8 are moutned on a main shaft 24 which latter also carries an endless pack preparing or pack building" conveyor 10 forming part of a second machine section.

The conveyor 10 in part carries and in part cooperates with deforming means including blank feeding, draping, folding, tucking and sealing devices for building partially completed or partially finished composite envelopes or packs each of which includes an inner layer or envelope of metallic foil and a surrounding outer layer or envelope of paperboard. The pushers 14 orbit at the speed of the conveyors 6, 8 and 10 and their strokes are long enough to shift compressed groups of cigarettes from the receiving means or tunnels of the conveyor 8 through the open ends of and into the partiallyfinished packs on the pack building conveyor 10.

The main shaft 24 further carries a fourth endless conveyor 12, hereinafter called sealing or finishing conveyor, which forms part of a further machine section and is adjacent to and receives filled packs from the conveyor 10. The conveyor 12 is provided with and cooperates with deforming means for closing and sealing the still open ends of filled packs and to thereupon deliver finished packs 16 into the range of a transfer conveyor 20 which supplies finished packs to a take-off conveyor 22 serving to deliver such packs to a further processing station (for example, to a carton filling machine) or to storage. The strokes of the pushers 14 are long enough to shift filled packs from the pack building conveyor 10 onto the sealing conveyor 12, and the latter is provided with radially movable ejectors or plungers 18 serving to eject or withdraw finished packs 16 and thus move such packs into the range of the transfer conveyor 20. The conveyors 6, 8, 10 and 12 are driven continuously at the same peripheral speed and in the same direction by a common drive unit which will be described in connection with FIG. 5.

If the packs which are built up on the conveyor 10 should be provided with outer layers or envelopes of 

1. In a machine for enclosing each of a plurality of blockshaped commodities in at least one envelope of wrapping material, particularly for packing groups of parallel cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped tobacco-containing articles, a combination comprising a plurality of machine sections including a first section for preparing block-shaped commodities and a second section for preparing open envelopes consisting of wrapping material, said first and second sections respectively comprising first and second endless conveyors respectively having a plurality of first and second receiving means for commodities and envelopes, said first and second receiving means being respectively movable repeatedly along first and second endless paths, said first section further comprising a source of rodshaped articles and feeding means for delivering articles from said source to said first receiving means so that each of said first receiving means accommodates a group containing a predetermined number of articles and constituting one of said commodities, said second section further comprising means for forming empty envelopes on said second receiving means including blank supplying and manipulating devices; drive means for continuously moving said conveyors, each of said first receiving means being in at least temporary registry with one of said second receiving means during each movement along the respective path; and transfer means for assembling commodities with open envelopes while said conveyors are continuously moved by said drive means, said transfer means comprising a discrete transfer member for each of said first receiving means and means for moving said transfer members in synchronism with as well as relative to the respective first receiving means.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said first and second conveyors are coaxial with each other and said drive means is arranged to continuously rotate said conveyors about a fixed axis, each of said transfer members being movable through the respective first receiving means and the registering second receiving means to thereby expel the contents of both receiving means in register therewith and to assemble the thus expelled contents of the respective first receiving means with the contents of the registering second receiving means.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each defining a space for reception of a commodity and each having an external outline corresponding to the internal outline of an empty envelope, said drive means being arranged to move each of said conveyors at a constant speed and said transfer members being arranged to expel commodities from the respective first receiving means and to introduce the thus expelled commodities into the registering hollow bodies.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said sections comprise a third section for the closing of filled envelopes, said third section having a third endless conveyor and said drive means being arranged to move said conveyors at a constant speed, said third conveyor having a plurality of third receiving means for filled envelopes, said third receiving means being movable by said drive means repeatedly along a third endless path and each thereof being in register with one of said second receiving means while the latter registers with one of said first receiving means, said transfer members being arranged to transfer the contents of the respective first receiving means into the registering third receiving means by way of the registering second receiving means.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 4, wherein the receiving means of at least one of said conveyors are movable between a plurality of positions with reference to said one conveyor.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 5, further comprising means for moving the receiving means of said one conveyor including cam meAns extending along the respective endless path.
 7. A combination as defined in claim 1, further comprising condensing means for compacting the commodities prior to assembly with envelopes.
 8. A combination as defined in claim 7, wherein said sections comprise a fourth section supporting said condensing means adjacent to said first section.
 9. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each defining a space for reception of a commodity and each having an external outline corresponding to the internal outline of an empty envelope, said members for moving said transfer means comprising stationary cam means.
 10. A combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each of which is shaped to support an envelope, said means for moving said transfer members comprising stationary cam means.
 11. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said first receiving means are open-ended chambers.
 12. A combination as defined in claim 10, wherein the conveyor of said second section is a turret and said hollow bodies are equidistant mandrels.
 13. A combination as defined in claim 12, wherein said mandrels are movable with reference to said turret and further comprising means including stationary cam means for moving said mandrels on said turret between first and second positions in predetermined angular positions of said turret.
 14. A combination as defined in claim 10, wherein the conveyor of said third section is a turret and said third receiving means are disposed on the periphery of said turret and are equidistant from each other, said third receiving means being movable on said turret and further comprising means including stationary cam means for moving the third receiving means between first and second positions with reference to the turret in predetermined angular positions of the turret, said transfer members being arranged to introduce open filled envelopes into said third receiving means in one position of such third receiving means and said third section further comprising means for treating filled envelopes in said third receiving means in the other position of the latter.
 15. A combination as defined in claim 14, further comprising means for removing closed filled envelopes from said third receiving means.
 16. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each defining a space for reception of a commodity and each having an external outline corresponding to the internal outline of an empty envelope, said means for moving said transfer members comprising stationary cam means and said first receiving means constituting open-ended chambers.
 17. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each defining a space for reception of a commodity and each having an external outline corresponding to the internal outline of an empty envelope, said means for moving said transfer members comprising stationary cam means and the conveyor of said second section constituting a turret and said hollow bodies constituting equidistant mandrels.
 18. A combination as defined in claim 17, wherein said mandrels are movable with reference to said turret and further comprising means including stationary cam means for moving said mandrels with reference to said turret between first and second positions in predetermined angular positions of the turret.
 19. A combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said second receiving means are hollow bodies each defining a space for reception of a commodity and each having an external outline corresponding to the internal outline of an empty envelope, said means for moving said transfer members comprising stationary cam means, the conveyor of said third section constituting a turret and said third receiving means being disposed on the periphery of said turret and being equidistant from each other, said third receiving means being movable with reference to said turret and further comprising means including stationary cam means for moving said third receiving means between first and second positions with reference to said turret in predetermined angular positions of the turret, said transfer members being arranged to introduce filled envelopes into said third receiving means in one position of such receiving means and said third section further comprising means for treating filled envelopes in said third receiving means in the other position of the latter with reference to said turret.
 20. A combination as defined in claim 19, further comprising means for removing filled and closed envelopes from said third receiving means.
 21. A method of enclosing each of a plurality of block-shaped commodities in at least one envelope of wrapping material, particularly of packing groups of parallel cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped tobacco-containing articles, comprising the steps of withdrawing rod-shaped articles from a first source and arraying the thus withdrawn articles in successive block-shaped groups each of which contains a predetermined number of articles; continuously moving the groups along a first path; simultaneously withdrawing blanks of wrapping material from a second source, continuously moving the thus withdrawn blanks along a second path and converting the moving blanks into open empty envelopes each of which registers with a group in said first path; transferring the groups from said first path into the registering envelopes; continuously moving the thus filled envelopes; and closing the moving filled envelopes.
 22. A method as defined in claim 21, further comprising the step of changing the positions of empty envelopes during movement along said second path.
 23. A method as defined in claim 21, wherein each of said empty envelopes is moved in said second path from a first position for reception of a group to a second position in which the thus filled envelope is treated.
 24. A method as defined in claim 21, further comprising the step of compacting the moving groups prior to introduction into empty envelopes.
 25. A method as defined in claim 21, wherein each envelope is a composite envelope consisting of a plurality of deformed blanks.
 26. A method as defined in claim 25, wherein one blank of each envelope consists of tinfoil and another blank of each envelope consists of cardboard surrounding the respective tinfoil blank. 